Open Heart! An Ouran x Shugo Chara! Crossover
by xxhaesung
Summary: Hinamori Amu has been accepted into the ultra-rich Ouran Academy! What will life at Ouran bring for Amu? Love? Heartbreak? New friendships? Heated rivalries? Written by a noob FF author/returnee
1. Chapter 1

Hinamori Amu was wide awake, lying on her stomach in her bed with the comforter pushed and kicked to the floor. She had barely slept a wink of any of the eight hours that night like she had planned to. She was just so excited. She had made it her top priority to make sure everything went smooth as silk today, for you see, today was a new beginning for her.

Her life as a high school teenager.

Amu is now fifteen and today was the day that she had anticipated all year for: freshmen orientation. She was excited and shocked beyond belief to receive news that she had passed the entrance exams to be enrolled in one of the most exclusive and prestigious high schools in all of Japan. Soon, she would be part of the Ouran Academy student body. This was a dream come true for Amu. This school would look amazing on her college records, there was a plethora of extracurricular activities, but most importantly, she would be surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of gorgeous boys.

This excited Amu because it was an opportunity to take her mind off of her previous love interest, Hotori Tadase. Yes, it seems as though our pink-haired heroine has parted ways with the beloved puppy-eyed King's chair. It all began when Amu was around thirteen going on fourteen when she noticed that Tadase was isolating himself from the rest of the Guardians in order to spend time with a brunette beauty from a nearby middle school. Her name was Oshiro Reiko, and she was absolutely gorgeous. Her hair was always light, bouncy and naturally curly. It was a lovely, lustrous and almost burnt shade of orange. Her eyes were a piercing shade of olive and her skin was fair and delicate. She looked as if she had to be handled with care, like a new iPhone or laptop being taken out of its protective packaging. Her gentle smile and laugh were enough to make any guy swoon over her and she would have them eating out of the palm of her hand in seconds. Not long after meeting Reiko, Tadase was forced to leave the Guardians for good. Reiko felt that the Guardians were far too distracting to Tadase and he spent too much time at the Royal Garden than with her. Amu has seen Tadase a few times here and there, but most of the time they just passed by each other in the hallways or in the supermarket. Those moments were the most awkward for Amu, and she could never look at Tadase straight in the face. It's been some time since they've actually spoken to each other.

But that was all in the past. Amu was ready to take the world by storm, one club at a time.

_'UWAHHHHH!~' _Amu kicked and squealed with jubilance as she looked at her alarm clock. _'5:45 AM. Might as well get ready now', _Amu thought, seeing as though she's been up since 10 PM.

Amu got up from her bed and switched on her lamp. It was still pretty dark and she squinted her eyes as they tried to adjust to the sudden burst of light.

"Yo, Amu, why so early? You've still got 15 minutes of sleep", Miki popped out of her egg, rubbing her eyes still half asleep.

"Say, Amu-chan really didn't get much sleep last night, did she?" Suu floated over to Amu's face, concerned. She pinched Amu's cheeks with her tiny little hand and stretched them out as if she were made of silly putty. "Huh, you don't look sleepy at all!"

Amu gently pinched Suu off her face and placed her back in her plaid-patterned egg. "I'm fine, really", she reassured them. "I'm just so excited for today!" Sure, she's said that, what, only a few hundred times this week?

Amu showered at hyper-speed and skipped over to her vanity and started teasing her hair. She was going for the "cool-and-spicy" look that she had back in elementary school, although her outfit proved otherwise. She turned her head to the right to admire the outfit she made specifically for today. She chara-changed with Suu to design some fresh, new clothing out of the duds that were collecting dust in the back of her closet. She found an oversized pink tee shirt. With a snip here and a trim there, it transformed into a stylish, off-the-shoulder top with white satin lace traced right along Amu's neckline. White rhinestones were sewn on to the fabric in the form of angel wings on the back of her shirt. The front was simple, so Amu added flair by accessorizing with big and flashy necklaces. The shirt stopped right below her hips, so Amu matched a pair of white shorts with matching white ribbon disguised as a belt to go with her top. She completed the outfit with fishnet stockings and baby pink heels. She didn't mean to brag, but this was one of Amu's (and Suu's) best work yet. She was so mesmerized by her masterpiece that she jumped at the loud 'tink's and 'clank's as her phone vibrated on the glass dish that held her favorite perfumes and body mists.

_'Hmm, who could be calling me at 6:15 in the morning?'_

Before Amu could reach for her phone, Ran flew by and snatched it to see who called her. '_Eh? Wasn't she dead-asleep just a few seconds ago?'_ Ever since Amu's friendship with Tadase quickly dissolved into an estranged acquaintance, Ran had been especially protective of her and gave it her all to make sure Amu never got hurt again. She supported the fact that Amu was over Tadase and wanted to find someone else to make her happy, but Ran still wanted to make sure that if Tadase was ever able to contact Amu (which wasn't very likely, seeing as though they haven't spoken in ages), she wanted to make sure he knew is place and that he was not welcome in Amu's life after hurting her so much.

"Ran, it's okay. Please give me my phone", Amu patted Ran's head. Ran was a bit hesitant, but after looking at the caller ID and seeing an image of an uncomfortably-close Yoru with the face of a slim, young man in the background, she loosened her grip on the phone and placed it in Amu's palm.

Amu smiled and walked over to her bed. Ran, Miki and Suu followed her and plopped themselves onto her cloud-soft pillow, obviously tuckered out from all the "commotion" at such an early hour.

"_Moshi Mo-_"

"Bonjour, ma cherie~" said a smooth and luscious voice (with a slight, yet adorable, accent) on the other end of the line.

Amu blushed and closed her eyes in frustration. "What do you want, Ikuto?"

"Ahh, why so cold? Can't a friend just say hi to another friend without being scolded at?"

"It's 6:15 AM here. Wouldn't you assume I'd be asleep right now?"

"You sound wide-awake to me."

"That's beside the point!" Amu felt a blood vessel throbbing in her head.

"Whatever~" Amu hated when Ikuto ignored her rage like that and Ikuto enjoyed how easy it was to make Amu angry. "I just wanted to wish you a happy and healthy year of school and I hope you have fun at freshmen orientation, today"

"Oh, thank you!" Amu warmed up to him as she thought of how considerate it was of him to take the time to make a long distance call to her. "I hope you're enjoying your time in Paris with your father, Ikuto"

Ikuto chuckled. "Thank you, Amu. I'll be sure to personally thank you tod—_IS THAT AMU-NYAN? I WANNA TALK TO AMU-NYAN!~ GIMME THE PHONE-NYA— _as I was saying. I'll be sure to personally thank you today after the musical ceremonies. Also, Amu... TRY NOT TO GET TOO KNOCKED UP THIS YEAR, BYE!~" The phone clicked off.

Amu was now too embarrassed and in a fit of rage to even care that Ikuto called her to wish her a good day. That last comment was just downright awkward. Her face was red and burning.

'_Wait a second… personally? Today?'_ Amu was puzzled.

She just brushed the thought off and continued to get ready. She dressed herself and styled her hair. She tied it into a messy, braided side ponytail with white satin lace tied at the end to match the trimming on her neckline.

She was ready and more than satisfied with her work. She looked at the clock once more. It was 6:30 AM. She yawned and rubbed her eyelids while wiping away a small tear drop that formed in the corner of her eye. She decided to take a breather and lie down on her bed for the time remaining. Exhaustion was finally settling in and Amu felt weak and dreary. She thought a 30 minute nap would be good enough and she drifted off into a wonderful world of dreaming.

'_AMU-CHAN, AMU-CHAN, AMU-CHAN', _3 voices exclaimed over and over again. The sound was almost echo-like and distinct. It was getting louder and louder, until…

*PINCH*

"OUCH, HEY, WHAT THE HELL?" Amu woke up in a load of pain, rubbing her bright pink left cheek.

"AMU, 7:10 AM, GET UP, GRAB YOUR THINGS, PAPERS, BREAKFAST, HAIR", all these commands were entering Amu's ears simultaneously as she was struggling to get her weary and half-asleep body to function. She saw her 3 guardian characters frantically jumping on her chest, attempting to wake her up. Then her adrenaline kicked in. She looked at her alarm clock.

"7:11 AM? I HAVE 9 MINUTES TO GET TO OURAN ACADEMY!" She shouted as she struggled to gather her satchel and papers and fix up her hair. On her way out, she grabbed a piece of toast and sprinted out the door.

"Ah ah, wait Amu-_chan_, I can just give you a ri-" Hinamori Tsumugu exclaimed as he tried to grab his daughter's attention.

"Don't worry, Papa, at the rate she's going, she'll make it there in time" Hinamori Hidori said as she knelt down, fixing little Ami's school uniform.

From Amu's upstairs bedroom, Ran, Miki and Suu were all staring out the window, watching Amu run down the street to reach the bus on time. They were all frowning as she panted and stepped into the already-present bus, which was nearly ready to depart from the stop.

"Don't worry, you two. It's not like she left us here on purpose. She was just in a rush", Suu rested her tiny little hands on the shoulders of her two guardian sisters, holding them tight as they watched the bus drive down the street.


	2. Chapter 2

**UWAHHHHHH, so sorry for not submitting anything in what seems like centuries :( Freakin' AP world, orchestra, final exam shtuff. JUST SCREW IT ALL. But merrr, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! It's kind of long-winded and boring, I must say -_- Surprisingly enough, this chapter has more words than my previous chapter, yet it took half the time of that of the previous chapter to write it.  
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Panting with beads of sweat dripping down from her forehead, Amu oh-so-gracefully stumbled into a seat near the back of the bus. She took out the Ouran Academy pamphlet she received previously in the mail out from her satchel and rapidly waved it in front of her face. She let the cool breeze evaporate all those nasty beads of sweat. Normally, she would have used a handkerchief but she had forgotten her personal one back home during the little fiasco as she attempted to gather her things mere seconds before the bus arrived. After she cooled down a bit, she focused her interest on the Ouran pamphlet she was just using to fan herself off. The images of the castle-like building that was the Ouran campus made her even more excited than she already was. She then ruffled through her satchel to find the large, royal purple envelope that held some of the information sheets and permission slips that were needed to be filled out prior to the day of the orientation.

_'Let's see now… contacts, curriculum booklet… ah, here it is!' _Amu swiftly slipped out the sheet with all the clubs listed on it. She looked eagerly down the list to see if any of them caught her interest.

'_Oh, volleyball? I suppose I could chara-change with Ran for that one. Ah, Art and Calligraphy? Miki could definitely help me with that. Hehe, Suu would love Culinary Techniques!'_ At that moment, Amu realized that she didn't have her Shugo egg pouch with her. She had forgotten her guardians! She tensed up, thinking of how badly they must have felt when Amu left them behind. Amu was a bit disappointed, as well. She truly wanted to share this special day with her three guardians. She tried to see the brighter side of things. _'I'll just bring them on my first day of school! I can always just tell them about orientation tonight. The longer they wait, the more they'll anticipate!' _Amu continued looking down the list of extracurricular activities and could not contain herself from smiling like a complete goof. They all just sound so interesting. Fencing, archery, young adult literature club, international cuisine, she wanted to join them all.

There was one that caught her eye that she didn't quite understand, though. "Host… club?" Amu said out loud, thinking it would help her get a better understanding of what the club might be about. It didn't. Just then, the bus came to another stop, this time in a more secluded area of the district. Here, you could see from afar some mansions and condos gated off from commoner civilization. Some more students wearing commoner school uniforms boarded the bus. Then came a dashing young man with hair as bright and shimmering as a finely cut diamond. His light-golden mess of hair was barely covering his equally-as-amazing royal purple eyes; the same exact color as the envelope. Everyone except Amu, who was oblivious to the eighth wonder of the world walking down the aisle, was staring at the one and only Suoh Tamaki. He was sporting the typical Ouran powder-blue blazer with black slacks. He was fixing his tie as he approached Amu, who was still oblivious to him towering over her petite body.

"Excuse me, miss", he said in that infamous gentle voice of his, "Is this seat taken?" he pointed at the space directly next to Amu. Amu looked up and she could feel his eyes piercing through her soul. Tamaki flashed the small and subtle smile that every girl went weak in the knees to (with the exception of Haruhi, of course). Before Amu could reply with something intelligible, she merely nodded, blushed wildly and scooted over two inches to allow room for Tamaki's wide and broad frame to fit. She felt her face getting hot when the sides of their arms pressed against each other. She looked down in her lap and pretended to be preoccupied with some official school-related business when really all she wanted to do was hide her scarlet red cheeks from the probably-male supermodel sitting next to her. Tamaki looked down and automatically noticed the papers she was reading.

"Ah, Ouran! I go there, see?" Tamaki pointed at the crest sewn on to his blazer. Now finding a spark of interest, he started showing his truer side; his ditzy, laid-back, less suave side. He giggled an awkward giggle and continued to point at the crest as if she didn't already see it yet.

"So you do! Thank goodness, I have someone to get me around on my first day at the academy!"

"You're a freshman, eh? Always nice to see some fresh new buds ready to bloom into delicate Ouran blossoms~" his eyes sparkled. _'Is this guy serious?' _Amu thought.

"Ehehehe, yea. Would you help me get around today? I don't want to be a nuisance, but…"

"NONSENSE, fair maiden! I shall escort you like the fair knight that I am", he bowed his head and brought his hand up to his chest. Amu blushed once more _'Wait, I find this attractive?'_

"Oh, what a relief. You have no idea how worried I was about being left alone today, especially on such a huge campus", she smiled.

"My host club will take good care of you, little one! Don't you worry, Miss…"

"Hinamori Amu", Amu held out her hand to shake it with Tamaki's but instead, using both hands, he took hold of her's and brought it up to his lips. A small, gentle peck was what came of his unforeseen gesture.

"What a lovely name… Amu-chan", at this point, Amu was blushing like mad and steam was practically spewing out of her ears. "Th-th-thank y-you", she tried, and failed, to keep her cool as much as possible. She pulled back and sunk into her seat. Then she remembered, "Wait, _your _host club?" she asked Tamaki with a look of curiosity.

"Yes, my host club. Are you interested in becoming a client? Or perhaps even _joining _us and bringing in some male customers to entertain?" he rubbed his chin and leaned down to eye level with Amu.

"Clients? Entertain? What is this, some sort of strip club?" she looked appalled. She was almost ready to pull back her hand and land a nice old smack on the host club king's cheek.

"WHAT? N-NO! Nothing of the sort! It's just a club for our school's fair ladies who wish to be entertained by beautiful, charismatic young men. We drink tea a-and eat desserts", Tamaki said all in one breath. He had his arms blocking his face to avoid any injury that may result from Amu's boiling-hot temper.

"Tch… what kind of club is that?" Amu snapped her head back to face forward as she stood up. The bus had come to a complete stop. They were now within walking distance of Ouran Academy. "What kind of skill is required to be in the host club? You just make girls feel good while wasting time drinking tea? What a waste of time and money". True, drinking tea and doing nothing was all she ever did with the Guardians back during her Seiyo Elementary days. But this was a high school. Better yet, this was a high school for the _rich_. A host club sounded ridiculous. She slung her satchel over her shoulder, walked swiftly off the bus and made her way towards the campus. Tamaki sat there dumbfounded. Not even Haruhi had spoken to him in that harsh of a tone when she first met him. _'Heh, I really shouldn't let her get to me. It's just one person's opinion, after all. I'll manage'_, easier said than done, Tamaki struggled to erase that one scene from his memory and dragged his feet while walking to the building. It was a very rare occasion when a lady did not fall head over heals to Tamaki's smooth-talking and chivalrous gestures.

Meanwhile, Amu was fast-walking to the main salon where all new incoming freshmen were told to report to. She was silently scolding herself and grabbing the sides of her head. _'GAH, you idiot! Why did you have to yell at him! AHH, this is not the sweet and likable Amu that I wanted to be. NO MORE COOL AND SPICY. NO. MORE.'_ She squeezed her eyes tight shut and tried to forget about what just happened and didn't even notice the young, brown-haired man she had bumped into. The force was enough to take both her and the boy down and they both fell to the floor, rubbing their bottoms. She looked up only to see a boy with skin as clear and milky as, well, as a girl's, trying to clean up the spilt tea on his tray. _'Damn'_, Amu thought _'I could get use to this school. So many cute boys crawling all over the place!' _Amu dusted herself off and fixed up her hair. The boy said in the lightest voice Amu had ever heard from a guy "I'm so sorry! Are you okay, miss?"

He balanced the tray in one hand and pulled Amu up by the waist with the other. She grabbed on to his tiny, brittle shoulders and hoisted herself up. "Y-yes, I'm fine. I'm so sorry! Your jacket, it's ruined!" Amu gasped as she reached into her satchel for her handkerchief, only to remember once more that she had left it back home.

The boy chuckled and waved his hands to relieve Amu of her regret, "No no, it's completely fine! I can just wash it in the school's laundry room. Would you like to follow me, miss? It seems as though your shirt has been stained", he pointed out. Amu looked down and couldn't believe her eyes. There was a jarring, faint pinkish-brown stain on her new shirt! She frowned and rubbed the stain.

"Please follow me", the boy placed the neglected tray of tea on a table and took hold of Amu's hand and led her through a series of hallways before reaching the laundry room. He unbuttoned his Ouran blazer and placed it in a basket on top of the dryer. "Would you like your shirt to be washed first? It shouldn't take too long if it's on delicate wash", he asked courteously, following the "lady's first" rule.

"Uhh, sure…" Amu took off her shirt and handed it to the boy, whom she had yet to learn the name of. Luckily, the tea didn't bleed through the tank top, so she was still able to wear it and not feel uncomfortable around him. Actually, it was still pretty awkward, considering that she was still somewhat bare. The two sat in silence on a chaise longue, listening to nothing but the sound of the washer running.

Then the boy asked, "Oh, right! I still never caught your name, did I? My name is Fujioka Haruhi – Second year of high school. You?" He held out his hand to shake with Amu's.

"My name is Hinamori Amu, Nice to meet you! Thank you so much again for doing this for me. Ahh, on the day of my orientation, too." She rubbed her temples and leaned forwards.

"Oh, you're going to be attending Ouran this year? I couldn't tell. Incoming freshmen wear the uniforms that were sent in the mail for them."

Amu sat there in confusion, looking blankly at Haruhi. "Uniform? Mail? What?" _'I don't recall getting anything in the mail. Not clothes, at least', _I didn't get any sort of clothing in the mail from this place".

"Neither did I. Student's who are not able to order uniforms beforehand don't wear them to orientation. Or they just can't afford them. Even I couldn't afford them. I spent a good few months wearing some old sweaters before switching to the uniform", Haruhi said, flattening out his tie.

"Well, how did you afford them?"

"I didn't. My good friend is the son of the school principal. He managed to snatch a uniform for me", he laughed.

"Oh… if only I were that lucky", Amu swung her arms behind her and rested them on her head.

"Who knows? Maybe you'll run into him later today."

9 minutes had passed and Amu's wash was now complete. Haruhi tossed her shirt into the dryer and then proceeded to wash his jacket.

The two chatted for a couple of minutes, talking about school, college and life in general. Haruhi told Amu that he was on a scholarship. He was studying to graduate at the top of his class and to get into a good law school. He wanted to be a lawyer. He explained how sometimes his extracurricular activities got in the way of his studying, which was never a good thing. He was on a scholarship and was not actually able to afford Ouran's tuition, so studying hard and being on top of his game was all he could do to keep his scholarship.

_Bzzzzzzzzzt~_ The dryer stopped and Amu's shirt was nice and toasty. A tad bit wrinkled, but Haruhi offered to iron it out for her. In a few seconds, Amu was ready to go on with her day. She thanked Haruhi and told him she would like to meet up with him again. Before she left, Haruhi stopped to tell her something: "Make sure you visit the third music room later today. We'll be waiting!" he smiled. She smiled back and was on her way. She enjoyed spending time with Haruhi. He was very easy to talk to and he wasn't anything like that over-dramatic Tama-whatever his name was from earlier this morning. _'Third music room, huh?'_ Amu thought. _'I wonder what awaits for me there…'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally uploaded a chapter :'D Ugh, this one is pretty long-winded, lol. Sowwies -_- I'm very into descriptive writing, fml. But yeah, I really hope you guys enjoy this (poorly written) chapter :') ALSO, type youtube(dot)com/watch?v=2eIJV3tnxNk&feature=related into your address bar so that it fits in with the chapter. You'll know when to search it when you get to a certain part of this chapter :D Peace&Love - Shimmie~**

Amu rushed over to the main salon. She made it in the nick of time to listen to Principal Suoh's welcome speech. The salon was filled with elegantly dressed tables, each seating eight people. She went to the closest one to her, which had one seat available. _'What luck!'_ Before Amu could even lower herself on to the seat, a girl with auburn hair and fair skin snatched the open seat in a heartbeat. She looked up and gave Amu the smuggest smirk possible; a smirk filled with triumph and pride. Amu looked down at her with distaste, held her head up high and walked away. _'Pfft… what was her problem? It was just a freakin' seat anyways', _she thought. She tried to look as cool as possible as if she hadn't a care in the world. Then she realized: she was still seat-less. She was the only one remaining standing. She panicked and looked around to see if there was a corner she could crawl into to make herself less noticeable to the elegant group of future Ouran students. She then felt a tug on her arms and she was pulled down into a seat. She looked up to see a girl with wavy hair and glasses. She held a very impressive and authoritative presence to her. Contrary to her appearance, her voice was very gentle and welcoming.

"Please take my seat. I was only sitting here to keep my sister company, but I saw that you needed a seat and I couldn't just sit here and watch you mindlessly look around", she laughed. Amu laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head.

"Thank you so much!" She gave a slight bow. The girl smiled and looked over to her sister. She was practically a miniature version of her older sister, only with pin-straight hair and a thinner, frail figure. "Ayame-neesan…" the girl said in a timid voice.

"Rin, I hope you don't mind this. Please make good friends with this girl. I'll be standing up front with the rest of the student counsel", she walked away and headed towards one of the tables up front set behind a marble podium. There stood Principal Suoh behind the podium, beaming with excitement. Behind Yuzuru Suoh, Amu noticed the boy she met earlier take a seat at a table filled with, you guessed it, more gorgeous boys. Really, at this point, she's not surprised by this at all. The boy was polished and clean and had on his newly washed jacket. Before he took his seat, he caught a glimpse of Amu. He smiled and waved at her as he sat down. Amu snapped out of her trance, embarrassed that he noticed her staring at him like a complete fool. She sunk back into her chair and gave a small wave back. He could see him chuckle from all the way up front, making Amu sink even further into her seat. She also noticed the very familiar blonde-haired beauty sitting adjacent to the brunette. _'Eh? Does he know that asshole?' _Amu grimaced as she recalled that less than enjoyable scene from this morning on the bus. The two seemed to be enjoying each other's company, however. They laughed and smiled, completely comfortable with each other.

The salon was still filled with chatter and laughter and it took a while for it to settle down into silence, even after Suoh stepped on to the podium. Eventually, he caught the attention of everyone and began his welcome speech.

"Welcome, each and every one of you, to Ouran Academy. First off, I would like to congratulate you all on a job well done on your entrance exams. I know how much of an impossible feat they must have felt but the most important part is you pulled through and gave it your all. That is the type of attitude that is encouraged here at Ouran Academy. Second, I would like to introduce you all to the student council. These individuals are among the top ranked in the student body here at Ouran Academy and they are the most capable of leadership and guidance here among their peers. Please come to them if you have any questions or concerns regarding your first year here."

Everyone clapped as the student council stood and bowed in respect. The principal introduced them one by one and about six minutes later, he finished up the last bit of his speech.

"One more important thing I would like to stress before we serve brunch: here at Ouran Academy, education and success should not be the only thing you youngsters should focus on. Though they are extremely valued, friendship and having fun are encouraged. So please, everyone, let us all have a fun year together", Suoh finished with a loud applause immediately following. In a matter of seconds, brunch was served. It was one of the most elegant meals Amu had ever eaten in her life. Poached eggs sprinkled with aromatic herbs and spices served with Smoked Polish sausage, fluffy omelets smothered in delicious Comté cheese, sweet French pastries, there were just too many delicacies to list. _'Hmm, if only Suu were here'._

As Amu reached to pour herself another glass of sparkling pink lemonade, she noticed some sort of shadow lurking over Rin. It looked as if it was clinging on to the chandelier overhead. She looked up but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at what was creeping on the chandelier, but she found nothing. She looked back down to her plate and noticed that her fresh salmon salad was gone. She sighed and chuckled._ 'Honestly, who would be so _classy_ as to steal food off another girl's plate?' _She then felt something drop on top of her head. She jumped in her seat and quickly snatched whatever rodent was on her head, ready to beat the crap out of it. Only it wasn't a rodent. It was Yoru? "Yo!~" He waved, licking his fingers of the remaining scraps of the salmon salad. Amu held Yoru with her fingers, dangling him by his tiny shirt. "Y-Yoru? What are you doing here? How are you here? When did you even get here? WHY are you here?" Amu had many questions but Yoru had very little time to answer them. He swiftly flew out of Amu's grip and smirked at her. "Yoru!" she yelled out. Everyone at the table was now focused on her. Her face turned a dangerously bright shade of red and she felt her cheeks burning. "H-Hinamori-san?" Rin asked with concern, resting her hand on Amu's shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"Hehehehehe, I'm fine! I was just uh…" She struggled to give them a logical reason as to why she was screaming mindlessly up at the ceiling. Thankfully, the fading of the lights distracted everyone as they focused on the brightly lit spot where the podium was. Replacing the podium were three music stands and two chairs. Stepping into the spotlight was a tall man with straight, grey-tinted, indigo hair. He was wearing a tightly fitted black sweater with skinny maroon velvet pants. He held a violin in his left hand and a bow in his right.

And oh, what a magnificent instrument it was. It glowed in the light, freshly polished and shined to perfection. It's bright, reddish-orange color practically emanated off the violin in the light. His equally-as-impressive bow with gold accent near the frog of the bow glimmered in the spotlight. He tucked his instrument under his right arm, lowered his bow so that it pointed towards the floor and bowed. There was very light clapping to keep the atmosphere of the room calm and relaxing. The musician then raised his body, took out his violin from underneath his arm, placed the bow into his left hand so that he was holding both his bow and the instrument and used his free hand to hold it out to the right of him. As expected, a second person came into the spotlight, presumably an accompanying violinist. This time, the man looked much younger than the other. He was still very slim, tall, but a much younger-looking version of the other man. He was wearing a lavender-colored dress shirt and gray skinny jeans with black converse. His hair was a shade of midnight blue and his eyes a haunting sapphire. He held a dark sienna colored violin, extremely contrasting to bright color of the other man's.

Amu gasped quietly and her eyes widened as she stared closely at the younger man. "Ikuto…" She squeezed the table cloth and leaned in closer. The two stood at one stand together and the older of the two then introduced the cellist and the violist. A woman carrying in a cello and a man holding a viola walked over and bowed to the guests as well. They both took their seats and assumed the playing position. The two violinists raised their instruments and tucked them underneath their chins. Their bows were placed nice and firm on the string and the older of the two looked over to his mentee. He lightly bounced his head four times and the violist and cellist began the piece with the two violinists following a mere two beats after. They all played in harmony creating a marvelous sound. It was very spirited and cheerful. It fit the aura of this prestigious school. Amu focused on Ikuto the most. He definitely improved since the last she heard him play. It appeared as though he truly enjoyed playing. She saw him smile as his body swayed to the movement of his bow and his left hand moved with such grace: swiftly, making each note clear and crisp. His vibrato was played with confidence and it was filled with genuine happiness. Before she knew it, the piece was over. The four orchestral musicians slowly ended the last note with a crescendo and stopped their bow in an upward fashion. The guests clapped loudly as the four bowed once more before raising themselves and leaving the little "stage".

As the lights went bright, Suoh walked over to the center of the "stage", now cleared of the stands and chairs thanks to Ikuto, and spoke into a microphone in hand. "Ahh, wasn't that delightful, ladies and gentlemen? Truly a treat to hear such wonderful music from such talented performers. Only the best for our future Ouran academy musicians." He said with a smile growing on his face. There were several excited comments here, there and everywhere. "Yes, yes, it is exactly what you think. Starting this semester, Tsukiyomi Aruto will be working here as orchestra director alongside his son and apprentice, Ikuto." The applause was relatively louder when Suoh announced that Ikuto would be working at Ouran. Amu narrowed her eyes as she noticed that most of the annoying applause came from girls.

Aruto waved and flashed everyone with his popular, yet lethal "boom-you-are-now-pregnant-my-face-is-better-than-sex" smile to everyone. Meanwhile, Ikuto just looked around coldly with his deep, enigmatic eyes. They were fairly dim and uninterested until they settled upon a certain pink-haired girl. She was looking at her phone with an annoyed look in her eyes while every girl around her was practically groveling over the table, thinking Ikuto was taking a glance at one of them. Cute, but that wasn't the case. He was focused on Amu and Amu, only. His eyes flickered and filled with life. He felt a poke at the side of his right arm. His father grinned rather girlish-ly and urged his son to bow for the guests. He did and the two left the salon.

Amu saw the two exit with Yoru, out of no where, following and resting upon Ikuto's head. She thought about following them out to greet Ikuto after his two year-long absence. Her mind told her "get up, you know you want to seem him". And she did. She wanted to see him so badly, more than she could imagine. She didn't think much of it before, but after not seeing him for so long, she was desperate to be with him. She wanted to soak in his scent, experience his cat-like personality once more. She wanted to get up but she realized something while she was watching Ikuto perform with his father: he was happy. He was beaming. Light showed from his face for the first time ever and Amu wondered why he was never like that when Ikuto visited her. Granted, he was under Easter's control for years and he was probably just tired when he came to visit her from Europe…

But Amu wanted to keep that light in Ikuto's eyes. She didn't want to see them turn dim and gloomy when he looked at her. Amu remained in her seat, stirring the ice in her pink lemonade, slumped over.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note****: … Oh hi. It's been a while. Hehe… I'M SO SORRY. It's literally been 6 months since I last updated and I seriously feel like a lousy female dog for not submitting a chapter :'( My primary reason would be writer's block… or, you know, pure laziness. Also, I was an idiot and signed up for unnecessarily difficult classes this year. AP, WOO ~ FML, man :| So I hope you guys (if there are any who are still subscribed to/favorited my fanfic) can forgive for not posting /3**

**Also, I realize now that I never actually added a disclaimer for this fanfic. Meh: Ouran High School Host Club and Shugo Chara are obviously not mine. They are works of Hatori Bisco and Peach-Pit (respectively). Alright, now that that's all done and over with, I should add a little something before I continue on with my next chapter.**

**Amu and Rin are obviously both freshmen (age 15). Haruhi and the twins are second years (age 16), Kyouya and Tamaki are third years (age 17) and Mori and Honey are off in college living it up. Just so everyone's clear. Again, I apologize for not contributing to the story at all in these past couple of months ;A; *le begs for forgiveness**

Amu was walking about in the grand halls of Ouran Academy. She lazily looked around at the magnificent pillars and marble that lined the baby-pink walls of the prestigious school. It wasn't until Jounouchi Rin called out for her that she noticed she was straying far behind her tour group. She sighed and jogged uncomfortably up to Rin in her heels. The two made small chat and got to know more about each other. Rin seemed to be breaking out of her shy exterior. She was actually quite a gem. Quiet, but courteous. She reminded Amu a bit of Nagihiko. _'I wonder how he's doing… I hope well',_ Amu thought. She barely saw him at all since the last day of middle school. Amu smiled to herself as she remembered what Nagihiko said to her the day Tadase left the Guardians.

"_Amu..." Nagihiko said softly. She was sitting alone in the dimly-lit planetarium. He couldn't find Amu anywhere after school ended. She wasn't in the local café, the royal garden, her house, nowhere. It was nearly seven in the evening by the time Nagihiko found Amu. Nothing but the constellations in the simulated ceiling above lit up the vacant building. Her cold hands were placed beneath her legs as she sat in her seat, hunched over. Her face showed no expression. It was filled with neither pain nor anger. Her eyes were empty and emotionless. In her lap laid a single sheet of paper and an open envelope with a broken seal of powder-blue wax. _

_The letter read: My dear friends, it is sad for me to inform you that I can no longer participate in Guardian activities. My mother wanted me to focus more on my studies rather than drink tea and eat sweets in the royal garden every day after school. I know this may seem too sudden and my actions seem selfish, but please try to understand. I'm sure you will find yourselves a fine replacement for the King's chair for the rest of the semester. Thank you all for such wonderful memories. Your dear friend, Hotori Tadase._

"_You see what she's done to him… don't you?" Amu said quietly, with a hint of anger in her voice. "Tadase wouldn't have written this. He would have told us straight to our faces. He knows us better than that." She was clutching on to the letter so hard, it crumpled. She was right, of course. The letter was written with an air of unfamiliarity. It was as if Tadase was told word-for-word what to write in the letter, or better yet; the letter was written by someone else. Amu automatically knew who it was. It was that witch, Oshiro Reiko. The very thought of that self-absorbed, too-faced bitch made Amu fuming mad. She shredded the letter apart, which was still traced with the witch's scent: daisy-scented perfume into hundreds of pieces. Amu hated daisies. She preferred pink roses over daisies, but that was beside the point. She bunched up the now mutilated letter into a ball and threw to the ground as hard as she could. She wasn't sad. Not one bit. She knew better than to cry over a boy who had feelings for another girl. Her mama always told her never to feel sorry for herself for losing a boy, but to feel sorry for the boy who would never have the chance to call you his. Oh, no. Amu was more furious at the fact that Reiko had the nerve to toy with Tadase's feelings and desires and control him like some sort of puppet. She despised people like that. She really did._

_Nagihiko saw the fire in her eyes. He walked up to her, stopped right in front of her and clunked his knuckle onto her head. He ruffled around her pink hair and enjoyed the amusement he got from her bewildered expression. "You know you're pretty cute when you're angry", he laughed. Amu's cheeks turned red with embarrassment as she started punching Nagihiko in the arm as hard as she could. "I'm. Upset. And. All. You. Can. Do. Is. Laugh?" she said, throwing a punch with each word she said. As Amu held her arm back to throw another punch at Nagihiko, he caught her arm and embraced her. Amu's body turned limp as she wrapped her arms around his back. The hug didn't feel uncomfortable in the slightest. It was like hugging a close brother or father. "Amu…" Nagihiko said, "You're a lot stronger than you realize. I know you say it's just you're cool and spicy exterior and that you're actually fragile inside, but you're not the type of person to get worked up over a guy and his bitch-of-a-girlfriend". Amu laughed. Not only because she realized how foolish she was being for getting worked up over a guy but because Nagihiko actually swore_. _He was right, though. Reiko and Tadase weren't worth her time._

"_Thank you, Nagihiko." Amu squeezed him tightly. She decided to let the tears that she had been holding back fall down her face. _

Amu smiled faintly and thought to herself _'I really should give him a call. I wonder how he and the rest of the guardians are doing'._

They continued walking and she soon grew tired of the monotone drone that was her tour guide's voice. She lifted her pinkie to her ear and picked at it while yawning at the same time; all with a very lethargic expression on her face. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head.

She and Rin were walking in the back of the tour group as it was; why not just ditch them? It wasn't like their guide was paying attention to them to begin with. She pulled Rin by the elbow and covered her mouth immediately with the palm of her hand. She dragged her behind a pillar and waited ten seconds. Once Amu was certain that her tour group was out of earshot, she released her sweaty palm from Rin's face.

"Hinamori-san! W-What is the meaning of this?" Rin stammered, walking at a fast-pace back into the hallway to rejoin the group. Amu grabbed her once again and ensconced her feet on to the floor so that Rin would not be able to escape. "Hinamori-san?" she said with disbelief.

"C'mon! Let's explore the building by ourselves! It'll be a lot more fun", she smiled, rocking back and forth on her feet while grabbing on to Rin's sleeve. "But… we'll get in trouble!" Rin frowned and her lips curved downward. Amu pouted and forced fake tears to stream down her cheeks. Rin gave up and fell to Amu's pathetic gesture "Alright… where do you want to go?" she pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers and side in aggravation.

"Yay! ~ This way, this way!" and they were off. Amu grabbed Rin by the elbow once again and started skipping in the direction opposite of their tour group. They had absolutely no idea where they were going but that was the fun of it! A mere twenty minutes passed and Amu and Rin were laughing and running and getting lost in their own world. This was infinitely more fun than listening to some lady explain the history of Ouran Academy and its founder. Of course, it wasn't necessarily the building or the running around that entertained the two girls but rather the conversations they spent shared. Amu finally broke through Rin's shell and they were laughing and talking as loud as they wanted, contrary to Rin's initial behavior. Amu learned a lot about Rin: she was an avid reader of manga, enjoyed cooking for her mother and played more instruments than Amu could count. She played the piano, the cello, the saxophone, the bass clarinet, and the list went on and on. But Rin especially loved playing the cello.

"Eh? What's a cello? I don't play any instruments, so I wouldn't know", Amu giggled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head.

"Ah, the cello... think of it as… a giant violin!" Rin started, "but it's a completely different instrument from the violin or viola. You have to sit down in a chair and have the cello stand upright and rest on your shoulder and in between your legs." She squatted down, pretending to sit in an invisible chair. She lifted her elbow to represent what a cellist in playing position looked like. It looked rather bizarre so Amu laughed, causing Rin to blush furiously.

"W-what's so funny?" she crossed her arms and pouted.

"You look so weird doing that!" Amu was practically on the floor.

Rin jumped towards Amu, arms ready to tickle her but the pink-haired devil was too quick; she dodged Rin's "attack" and ran as fast as she could away from Rin, all while laughing until her face was blue. Rin ran after her with a complete advantage. She was wearing comfortable plaid flats whereas Amu was wearing those dead-trap heels. She tackled Amu as soon as she grabbed hold of her. They were sweaty and out of breath but content nonetheless. They both looked at each other and burst out laughing. Their hair looked ridiculous and their faces were glistening with sweat. They continued on their journey to no-where through the halls of Ouran Academy.

"Hey, Amu-chan…" Rin said. Amu really enjoyed hearing that. Amu-_chan. _They already became close friends; the sound of that little _'chan_' made her smile.

"Hm?" she replied, not really paying attention to anything.

"Where… are we?" she stopped in her tracks. Amu repeated her action. She stopped dead in her tracks and started to panic. Everywhere she looked it was the same baby pink walls and marble flooring.

"… I don't know", she said with a defeated look on her face. Rin lowered her head and let out a puff of frustration. "Well, this isn't good."

They looked at each other desperately. They neglected to pay attention to the fact that the building was about as big as a college campus (possibly even bigger). Amu looked around once more and decided to keep on walking because there really was nothing better to do. They decided not to back-trace their steps because they literally ran around in circles during their little "chase". Amu looked up to see that there were a number of doors in their direction; one of them read "the third music room". She took a glance at Rin's melancholy face and decided to cheer her up. She didn't know why, but those words seemed awfully familiar to her. _'Third music room…'_

"Look, Rin! A music room! There might be a cello in there!" Amu pointed up at the sign above the double doors. "Show me how to hold one! Pleeease ~ Maybe this time it won't look as awkward", Amu said without regards to her semi-insulting remark. Rin felt a vein pop in her forehead but decided to brush off that last comment.

"I don't know… shouldn't we be trying to look for a way out of th—" she was stopped by the Amu's puppy-dog eyes and quivering bottom lip.

"Jeez, you're such a child. Alright, let's hope there's a cello in there", she patted Amu on the head, playing along with her puppy-dog act. Amu returned the gesture with a tackle-like hug, giggling. She grabbed the handles of the double doors and pushed, only to be blinded by a bright light and a cycle of red rose petals blowing their way. "What the hell…" Rin whispered.

Amu was equally as confused. Once their eyes adjusted to the light, the two walked in cautiously. "Sorry to intrude ~" Amu said quietly, as if the instruments would mind their presence in the room. But there weren't any instruments. Nope. Nothing. Not even a piano, which was odd, considering this WAS a _music_ room. Instead, there stood five strapping young men in front of them. Only replace strapping with _extremely, EXTREMELY attractive._ Rin blushed at the sight of them but maintained her façade of a strict and proper exterior (which Amu knew she wasn't like this at all).

Amu was not as phased by the presence of these five handsome men, mainly because _he_ was among the five.

They all chimed together in unison with more charisma and charm than Amu could tolerate, "Welcome!" _'Ya practice this often, or…'_ she thought. It all seemed so… rehearsed. She looked with disinterest. They were all either bowing or had their heads lowered. As soon as they stood straight and laid their eyes upon the two relatively confused girls, the blond-haired man looked as if he had been rejected by a girl (which, in this situation, he technically was). The pink-haired wildfire stared eye-to-eye to the blond-haired drama king.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hinamori-san!" Amu turned her attention to a familiar face. She relaxed upon noticing a certain brown-haired boy with milky-white skin. "Fujioka-san!" she smiled. He smiled back. "I'm so glad you made it", he stepped forward. His expression was soft and endearing.

"Haruhi, you know this girl?" A boy with spiky, light-auburn hair asked while resting his arm on Haruhi's shoulder. "Picking up clients before we open shop? Haruhi, you womanizer", said another boy as he rested his arm on the shoulder opposite of his clone. Both of them wore smirks and had their hips cocked out to the side and were rubbing their chins using their unoccupied arm. They were examiningAmu with great interest.

"And who might you be?" They grinned mischievously and chimed in unison.

"I just said her name, didn't I?" Haruhi groaned whilst letting out a sigh of frustration.

Haruhi pushed away the twins by jutting them in the sides with his elbows. As they groveled in pain and backed away, he continued to step forward and greet Amu properly. He rested his hand around her shoulder and directed her and Rin towards a chaise. Within seconds they were served tea with elegant and petit desserts.

"If you don't mind my asking, Fujioka-san", Amu started while graciously placing her teacup down. Normally she didn't act with such class but she didn't want to seem uncouth around the incredibly charming and chivalrous gentleman that was Fujioka Haruhi, "What exactly is this place?"

"Why, this is the Ouran Host Club, my fair maiden!" the blond, royal pain-in-the-ass enunciated with such regality. Amu grimaced at the sight of him posing in such a proud stance. "I know that much", she replied coldly before turning her attention back to Haruhi. Tamaki crouched in a corner, dejected and defeated.

"I mean, I've heard of this place before. And to be quite honest, it seems like a perfectly good waste of time," she said bluntly.

That was one arrow that struck through Tamaki's chest.

"Sitting around drinking tea and eating fancy food? Don't get me wrong, it's all very delicious, but what purpose does it serve? I am absorbing absolutely nothing from this experience."

That was one more arrow that struck Tamaki in the back.

"And is it really alright for you all to be whoring yourselves off to a bunch of female students?"

And one final arrow struck through Tamaki's head to deliver the final blow.

"Ah, H-Hinamori-san", Haruhi frantically waved his hands in front of Amu while chuckling nervously. Perhaps she had gone too far. She had just met the group a few moments ago and she was already spitting out insults left and right. She looked up at the three boys who remained standing; their expressions remained welcoming and undisturbed. "I'm sorry…" she said, "I-I might have hit a nerve there for some of you". Amu looked down in her lap as she twirled her thumbs together.

"It's quite alright", a boy with wonderfully sleek, black hair and scholarly glasses said. "I myself wonder how I ever manage to deal with the antics of this onerous, yet rewarding, activity but somehow I manage to pull through it." The boy smiled and looked up from the black notebook from which he was dedicating much of his time to writing in. Behind the slight glare of his glasses' lens he possessed the most striking and impressive steel-grey eyes Amu had ever seen.

"However, I encourage you to at least experience this club of ours before developing any further opinions, Hinamori-san", he continued to write in that black notebook of his, "At a rather modest fee, of course. If my records are correct, you are a freshman, yes? I will, of course, add a tremendous discount to your membership", he said with a smile and a certain glimmer in his eyes. However, it was not a compassionate or charming one that she had grown accustomed to. More like… a satisfactory glimmer. He directed his eyes towards Rin. "And how about you, Jounouchi-san?" The instant those words escaped his mouth, Rin blushed. "You're sister is already a regular here. How would you like to follow in her footsteps?"

Before she could respond, Amu burst out laughing, "Fee? What makes you think I would dedicate even five minutes of my life to something like this?"

"That's pretty big talk for someone who just spent twenty minutes lazing around drinking tea and eating lady fingers", one of the light-auburn haired clones scoffed.

She stood up and straightened herself up, but not before sending a near-lethal, antagonizing glare at the carrot-top. "C'mon, Rin. We're leaving."

As she proceeded to exit the music room, she couldn't help but notice the slightly somber expression Haruhi wore on his face.

"I'm sorry, Fujioka-san. I just… I really don't feel like I'd enjoy this kind of thing too well", she smiled apologetically. Haruhi returned the smile.

"It's no big deal. The only thing that makes me sad is that I won't be able to see you every day." Amu blushed furiously at his comment.

"I-I, ah, thank you. Maybe next time", she stammered. She grabbed Rin once again by the elbow and exited the bright room and paced through the dimly-lit hallways. Her face was still crimson red. She wanted to get away from that room as soon as possible, and as far away from that room as possible. She couldn't bear it any longer. Not because of the incessant behavior of that _gorgeous_ golden-haired god, but because it just hurt. She didn't know why, but she felt something ache ever so slightly in her chest. She continued to drag Rin down the hallways, not completely sure of what their destination was, until she caught on to the constant struggle her poor friend was exerting. She stopped them both abruptly.

"Sorry, Rin. I shouldn't have dragged you out like that. God, I'm just a wreck today", Amu rubbed her temples and leaned against the wall. She couldn't get the images out of her head: she kept thinking about Haruhi and his wonderfully gentle smile. He possessed such perfect skin and hair. He was honestly a doll; a beautifully crafted, porcelain doll. And then there was Tamaki. Oh, that idiotic, buffoon-of-a-god. He wasn't as… _pretty_ as Haruhi was, but he was certainly glowing. His body was wonderfully built and the way his sun-kissed locks barely covered those enigmatic, violet eyes of his made Amu weak at the knees. There was something about those two in particular that made Amu feel butterflies in her stomach. The feeling was almost bittersweet, and Amu couldn't guess why.

Amu was broken out of her thoughts when she felt something warm rest on her shoulder. She looked to her side and saw Rin smiling at her with sure eyes. "It's okay. You don't have to explain anything to me. If it's bothering you this much then I obviously have no right to pester you with questions." Amu looked at her for a few seconds to absorb her incredibly kind and understanding words.

"Rin?" A voice echoed from all the way at the end of the hallway. A girl much taller than Rin but practically identical to her (albeit the wavy hair and bigger bust would tell you otherwise) caught their attention.

"Ayame nee-san!" Rin called out to her older sister. She semi-jogged her way over to her sister, dragging Amu along with her. "Where's the rest of your tour group?" The elder Jounouchi sister asked.

Amu looked up with guilty eyes because she had been the one to pull Rin away from the group for her own selfish desires. "I—", Amu started.

"I was worried that Amu would get bored of just listening to some pedestrian tour guide go on and on about the school's history, so I suggested we take a detour and explore on our own. Unfortunately, we got lost and couldn't find our way back to the main parlor", Rin said while bowing down slightly. Ayame laughed and patted her mini-me on the head.

"I wish I had your wonderfully-free spirit when I was your age, Rin-Rin." Rin's cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

"Rin-Rin?" Amu giggled. It was adorable.

"It was a pet name I gave her back in my elementary days. I rarely ever use her birth name", Ayame laughed once more before pulling Rin in from behind for a hug. Amu could sense a strong bond between the two sisters. She smiled, thinking about how much joy Ami brought Amu just as Rin did to Ayame (of course, Ami was more of a handful but what can you do, right?)

"It's about time we head back to the main parlor. I don't know about you, but I'm quite parched and some pink lemonade sounds pretty good right now. Unless of course, you'd like me to continue your tour personally."

Rin was quick to protest because she actually knows quite enough about the history of Ouran Academy. She attended Ouran Junior Academy for three years prior to moving up to the high school and she was sick of listening to how Ouran was first founded. Amu also declined, caring more about the lemonade than anything else at the moment. They followed Ayame through the labyrinth of hallways until they finally reached the main parlor.

"Freedom!" Amu stretched her arms up in the air and took in a deep breath. Rin laughed. "Just wait until classes start. We won't be able to reach first period without getting lost." Amu slumped over at the thought of getting lost on the first day of class.

Amu lightly shoved Rin in the side and laughed. "Buzzkill", she stuck her tongue out. "Alright, I'm gonna find me some lemonade. I'll be right back."

As she dodged the few people standing about in the parlor, she accidentally slipped on something (A banana peel? What the hell was a banana peel doing on the floor?). She was about fall head-first onto the marble floor until a pair of strong, warm hands grabbed on to her wrists.

Her heart stopped beating for a couple of seconds as she tried to absorb her near-death (well, more like near-concussion) experience. She looked up to see who her savior was. Her amber eyes were met with sparkling and (unfortunately) maroon eyes.

She recognized that honey-golden hair anywhere. Only now, it lacked that rebellious, yet innocent, ahoge. It was slightly longer and not as tamed as it was in its youth, but it still looked as wonderfully palpable as it ever had. In the heat of all this, Amu's blood came to a boil and she pulled her hands away from his grip. She was lucky she was so good at hiding anger; her face was completely void of any type of emotion. She simply stepped to the side and continued walking to retrieve her lemonade. She finally made her way for the refreshments buffet.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Amu said out loud to no one in particular as she downed her lemonade as if it was a shot of whiskey. She kept pouring herself glass after glass and kept thinking of all the possible reasons _he_ was here.

'_Hotori Tadase_', she thought, '_Why are you here?'_


	6. Chapter 6

It was about a quarter to six in the evening when Amu stood outside the gates of the prestigious Ouran Academy. She was waiting for her father, growing more impatient with each passing second. She took her heels off and the soles of her feet touching the cool and rough concrete felt only momentarily blissful. The throbbing returned after a good few seconds but with even more ferocity.

Rin had left about ten minutes ago, much to Amu's dismay. Before she joined her sister in the limousine, she exchanged cell phone numbers with Amu. She even offered to give Amu a ride home but as much as she would have loved to ride in a limo (she hadn't done so since she accompanied Utau to an award show in Tokyo… but that was years ago), she politely declined, knowing her father would be disappointed to be unable to hear all about Amu's day.

And so there she stood, rubbing the sides of her arms with her hands as night was setting in. The sky was painted vibrant orange and pink with splashes of pale white wisps of cloud. The crescent moon was fairly visible and high in the sky, waiting for day to rest and night to awaken. A breeze sent chills down Amu's spine. She paced back and forth in front of the gates, hoping to warm herself up and keep herself occupied while waiting for her father, who was twenty minutes late now. She was also hoping that the pacing would help settle her nerves as her mind continued to race through the events of the day. Her mind was not at ease, especially after her encounter with her former lover.

Actually, she questioned whether Tadase could truly be considered a "lover". They held hands, hugged, and kissed each other (barely) on the lips but that was as far as they went with showing affection towards one another. Even though she didn't show it in a particularly passionate manner, she loved Tadase dearly. He made her feel special but as the years passed, she started feeling neglected. Tadase indeed made her feel like a princess, but she wanted more. As she entered her teenage years, her hormones started to drive her crazy. She no longer wanted Tadase to make her feel like she was at the top of the world; well, she did but in other _ways_. Obviously, she wasn't driven by sex nor did she have the desire for it at all, but she wanted deep, passionate make-out sessions where both of them would be left completely breathless and panting. In the end, innocent little Tadase merely held her hand, kissed her on the cheek, gave her flowers, and expressed no interest in taking their relationship to the next level whatsoever.

Eventually, Tadase moved on and Amu was left heart-broken and alone. She wondered if it was because she herself didn't show any interest in advancing their relationship. To be honest, Tadase's new flame was quite a catch. Her skin was soft to the touch and her eyes were hauntingly piercing and alluring. Practically everything about her was synonymous to the word "sexy" but she still possessed an almost innocent and helpless demeanor which, in some guys, could be seen as a turn-on. Perhaps that was why Tadase left Amu for her. Amu admitted herself that she could never compare to such a goddess.

Amu checked her phone for the time. "Six twenty-five…" Amu rested her hands on her hips and slumped against the stone wall which the gates were attached to. Her father was probably just getting out of work right now. She decided to go back into the building because she'd rather be in a cushy, well-ventilated, and heated foyer than outside in the cold and breezy night.

She was pretty damn tired, considering she was running on practically no sleep. Today had been more chaotic than Amu had anticipated but it was something she could share with her Shugo Chara. Speaking of which, she hadn't thought about them all day until now. Amu frowned as she thought about how much her three guardians missed out on. She missed them to bits. _'Thank God tomorrow's Sunday',_ she thought.

She made her way to a deep-red, crushed-velvet couch (one of many tastefully placed around the foyer, presumably by an interior decorator) and plopped herself onto it. Her eyes slowly began to shut and her vision became blurry and eventually faded to black. Her body became desensitized to the pain in her feet and to any strain that was placed upon her from the events earlier today. This was probably the most comfortable she's been all day. As she was about to blank out completely, she felt a weight come down on the spot next to her. She opened her eyes immediately and looked to her left. Staring back directly into her eyes was a pair of hauntingly sapphire irises. She could recognize those eyes anywhere but she never thought she would see them this closely again.

"Iku—," before she could even finish saying his name, he pulled her closely to his chest. His head was turned so that his cheek was resting upon Amu's soft locks of carnation pink. His arm was wrapped around Amu's waist and his other hand was resting on her back. It took Amu a moment to process what was happening, even though it was pretty obvious and straight-forward: he was hugging him, and she wasn't hesitating to hug him back. Soon, they were both involved in the long and silent embrace. Neither wanted to be the first to back out but both of them knew they couldn't remain like this for all of eternity (though, it _would_ be nice). He begrudgingly pulled himself off and rested his hands on her shoulders. He looked down to the floor, not yet wanting to meet her eyes. Amu noticed this but said nothing.

The two remained silent for an entire two minutes. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, Amu broke the silence with, "So… how was Europe?"

Ikuto looked up with his eyebrows raised. Then he laughed. His expression was soft and his eyes were back to staring deeply into Amu's eyes. He was smiling. "Miserable."

"What? Why?" Amu could never imagine why. He was in Europe playing music with his father. What more could he want?

He dropped his arms and stood up. Once again, he reverted to not looking at her, eye-to-eye. "You weren't there," he said smoothly. His voice was so smooth and bone-chilling, it made Amu blush.

"Ikuto…" she looked up to see him walking towards the labyrinth of hallways to God-knows-where. "W-where are you going?" She called out. He turned around and smirked at her with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Oh? You don't want me to leave? You're such a child, Amu."

Amu glared at him with cheeks tinted red. "Tch, fine, whatever. Do what you gotta, there's nothing stoppin' ya," She swung her shoulder back to turn around. She looked over her shoulder to see if he had gone; he hadn't. When she looked over, she saw him flash a wonderfully devilish smile before walking off. It made her knees go weak. Before she knew it, she was sitting on the couch again. Her knees were so weak and she could barely support herself. Her heart was beating quickly but she felt… good. Euphoric, almost. This was the feeling she wanted for so long. The one Tadase had never given her, never would have given her and never _could_ have given to her. There was something about Ikuto that momentarily turned Amu into a pile of structure-less goop.

Only _momentarily_ though. Even though Amu was a healthy fifteen-year old female, she still felt it necessary to suppress her sexual desires: A female, high-school student should never think such dirty thoughts.

She sat for another five minutes until her cell phone ringer went off. It was her father. He was finally here after a good hour of waiting. She jogged outside through the cool air and into her father's SUV, greeted with a warm and loving smile from her papa. She smiled back as she started going on and on about her day and what she's seen. Randomly, her papa brought up the question "Were there any boys in the school?"

Knowing full-well what her papa _didn't_ want to hear, she declared with confidence (while trying to contain her laughter): "Of course! They're all gorgeous." Her papa silently wept at the very thought of Amu being asked out by hundreds of boys, left and right.

They returned home about thirty minutes later and Amu's nose was greeted by a heavenly array of different mouth-watering aromas. Her mother had made Tonkatsu.

"I'm home," she called out as she kicked off her heels and slipped on her slippers. (**A/N: Ohhh, so that's why they're called "slippers". Makes sense now.)**

"Welcome back, Amu-chan," her mother smiled vibrantly. Her face tightened into an expression of surprise. "You look exhausted, Amu-chan."

Well, that's because she _was_. "It's really no big deal, mama," she said, completely unaware of her disheveled hair, chapped lips or the dark circles beneath her eyes. She poured herself a glass of ice-cold water and downed it in no time. She let out a refreshed sigh and sat down at the table. Her mother placed a plate of the deliciously breaded pork cutlets in front of Amu and kissed her forehead. "How 'bout you eat up, take your bath and go straight to bed tonight? You could use the sleep," she lightly brushed Amu's cheek with a knuckle and smiled. "You can tell me all about your day tomorrow."

Amu nodded her head and began scarfing her dinner down. It was delicious but it would have been more enjoyable if she wasn't on the brink of passing out from exhaustion.

"Thank you for the meal," she said while standing up from the table. She hurried upstairs to take her bath, brush her teeth and turn in for the night. Of course, she didn't really intend on sleeping early tonight.

As soon as she finished her nightly routine of cleanliness, she ran to her room to see the three people (tiny people) she had been dying to see the most throughout the entire day.

She opened her door and saw that there was no one to greet her. She looked at the coffee table adjacent to her bed and saw that the four eggs were not hatched. Her guardian characters were fast asleep, And Amu felt that she should've been doing the same. Before climbing into her bed and entering the wonderful world of slumber, she smiled and kneeled down to the basket to whisper "Good night, girls. Sweet dreams." Three of the four eggs wiggled and out popped Ran, Miki and Suu.

"Amu!" They exclaimed ecstatically. They all floated over to Amu as quickly as possible and clung to Amu's head, hugging her tightly. She laughed at how ticklish their minuscule bodies felt. Suddenly, she noticed a small, golden light floating out of the corner of her eye. Of course, it wasn't a golden light, but, much to her surprise, her golden guardian. She turned to see Dia out of her egg, smiling brightly at her. "Welcome home, Amu-chan," her voice was light and airy.

"Yeah…" she smiled. It was really nice to see Dia out and about again. Amu walked over to her light switch to turn off her ceiling lamp. The room was completely dark with nothing but the bleak moonlight shining through her windows. She shimmied into bed and gestured for her guardians to join them. She turned over so that she was lying on her stomach. She propped herself up on her elbows and placed a pillow in front of her for her guardians to sit on. For the next two hours, she told them all about the chaos that ensued today during orientation. From bumping into Fujioka Haruhi, to meeting Rin, to encountering the infamous Ouran Host Club, to seeing both Tadase and Ikuto.

Rin did not respond kindly when Amu mentioned Tadase but decided not to ruin the moment with another rampage of rage. Somehow throughout their whole conversation, Amu unknowingly and unwillingly fell asleep, and her guardians followed her. They all peacefully breathed softly in and out, content to be at each other's side.


	7. Chapter 7

"_What, may I ask, is that?" Amu asked with a look of disgust._

"_It's your new school uniform! I managed to ask my friend to order you one", Haruhi said enthusiastically, "Don't you worry: It's completely free of charge."_

"_Oh no, really, you shouldn't have!"_

"_I know it's a bit much, but the principal really wants Ouran's female students to develop a taste for western fashion."_

_Reluctantly, Amu took the dress from Haruhi. She thanked him for taking the time to personally deliver her uniform. "So, what are you doing today on this fine Sunday afternoon?" Amu crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe._

_Haruhi shrugged, "Nothing much. I figured I'd do some last-minute grocery shopping for tomorrow's 'Back-to-School' Host Club picnic. Tamaki-senpai has asked me to cook something for the clients tomorrow." _

"_Mind if I tag along? I really have nothing else to do around here and I'm trying to make the most out of my last day of freedom before classes start"_

"_Sure, I don't see why not." Haruhi smiled._

_Amu smiled back, "Great! Wait just a couple of minutes, 'kay?" She invited Haruhi inside to sit in her living room and bolted upstairs. Once she was in her room, Amu tossed the dress onto her bed and grabbed her satchel and a beret to cover her disheveled hair. Before she stepped out, however, she grabbed her shugo-egg pouch and tapped it on the side lightly. The four eggs floated up and cracked open, revealing four bright and shining smiles. "We're going out today, girls." Amu smiled at her guardians._

_She trotted down the stairs and noticed that her mom had already introduced herself to Haruhi. Ami was grabbing on to his arm, swinging back and forth singing "Amu's got a boyfriend, Amu's got a boyfriend." _

"_WHAT?!" She could hear her father crying from upstairs._

"_He's not my boyfriend, you little bug." Amu pulled her baby sister away from him. Ami stuck out her tongue before running upstairs, giggling. Mama stayed to chat with Haruhi for a few more seconds._

"_My, you have such soft skin. And such lovely, soft hair. Almost like a girl's!" She kept going on and on. Haruhi chuckled nervously, but before he could speak, Amu interjected. "Mother, you're embarrassing him." She grabbed Haruhi by the elbow and made her way towards the door, "I'm off! I'll be back before supper!"_

"_Amu-chan, Amu-chan, this boy is really cute! Are you two going out?" Suu floated around Amu's head excitedly. Ran was giving Haruhi a dirty look._

"_Eh?! What makes you say that?!" Amu blushed._

"_What makes me say what?" Haruhi asked. He was picking out various vegetables to pickle overnight. They had been at the market for twenty minutes captivated by bargains and special offers._

"_Nothing!" She flicked Suu off to the side and gave her a death glare to which Suu responded by sticking her tongue out. "I was just, uh…" Before she could continue, she saw a certain golden-haired boy out of the corner of her eye followed by a flash of burnt orange and a light, airy laugh._

"_Honestly, Tadase, just tell me what you want for dinner. This will be the last time I'll be able to cook for you for a long time. Once school starts, we'll never have time to see each other."_

"_Isn't it customary for a gentleman to take his lady out to dinner instead of the other way around?" He replied while holding the beautiful Oshiro Reiko by the waist._

"_You spoil me too much. Let me cook your favorite tonight." She turned around and stood on the tips of her toes to plant a small peck on Tadase's lips._

_Amu turned around immediately and walked in the opposite direction. "Hinamori-san?" Haruhi called out._

"_Hinamori-san?" He called out again. This caught Tadase's attention. He turned to see who was calling out for Amu and noticed a brown-haired boy hastily making his way down the produce section. He thought about following him but (besides the fact that his girlfriend was with him) he heard a certain murmur from outside the market. The murmur turned into multiple murmurs and he knew immediately what they were._

"_Useless…. Useless…" The sound grew louder. Tadase let go of Reiko and ran outside._

"_T-Tada-chan!" She called out for him._

"_Reiko, stay here. I'll be right back" He ran without giving an explanation. "Tadase!" She kept calling out but he ignored her._

"_Haruhi! I thought I'd find you here. I just stopped by to stock up on some instant coffee", Suou Tamaki said, smiling brightly. He saw the pink-haired devil standing beside Haruhi and grimaced slightly. "Ah, lovely to see you again, pink-haired maiden!" He backed away a few inches._

"_It's you! The girl who told us off the other day!"_

"_Come to apologize?" Two light-ginger twins said from behind Tamaki. "Hey, are you okay? What's with the face?" Hitachiin Hikaru asked. Haruhi looked over at Amu and noticed a disturbed look on her face._

"_Hinamori-san, are you okay? Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to take you home?" He placed a hand on Amu's shoulder._

"_Oh, I just remembered I really need to be home soon. Uh, I'll see you around, Haruhi." Amu ran off and turned a corner to run behind the side of the market. Haruhi and the boys followed her immediately but before they could catch up, she was gone. "What?" Haruhi raised an eyebrow._

"_How is that possible? A person of her stature would have never been able to run that fast", Hitachiin Kaoru said. He looked around. Little did he know that Amu was on the rooftop, floating in mid-air._

_Amu looked over to see if they were a good distance away. She turned to Ran and smiled apologetically. "Thanks for the character-change, Ran. There are x-eggs. A lot of them" Amu took out her Humpty Lock that had been tucked underneath her shirt and gave Ran a determined look._

_Tadase ran out into the parking lot, looking around frantically. "Kiseki, let's g-" but he had forgotten that his shugo chara hadn't come out of his egg in a few weeks. He was not used to the isolation from his guardian character and without Kiseki, he was powerless. He looked down at the asphalt feeling ashamed and confused. He didn't know what he had done to trap his guardian character in his egg and he was desperate to get him out._

"_That Amu girl is strange. Why do you like her so much, Haruhi? Could it be that you have a crush on her?" Hikaru teased. Tamaki yelped and Tadase looked up._

"_Shove off, Hikaru. She's entering Ouran as a new kid. I was in her position just a year ago. It doesn't hurt to have at least one friend your first day of school, does it?"_

_Tadase approached the group and asked "Excuse me, but did you say Amu? Hinamori Amu?"_

"_Yea, she was with me a couple of seconds ago but she vanished out of thin air. Why, do you know her?" Haruhi replied._

"_Oh, yea. We were good friends once. If you see her again, can you tell her tha-" He heard a gust of air blow over their heads. He looked up and saw a blur of pink and red ribbons gliding in the air. He stared as Amu flew off in the direction of the x-eggs._

"_W-what was that?!" Tamaki yelled out. He pointed in the direction that Amu flew off to. Haruhi and the twins were equally as perplexed._

"_I… have no idea", Tadase lied._

Amu plopped down onto her bed, her hair damp and covered with a towel. She had just taken a bath and was about to turn in early for her first day of class in the morning. She let out a loud sigh. "I'm getting way too old for this. This was the third case of x-eggs we've had this week. That's a lot more than usual." She rolled over onto her stomach and shut her eyes.

"Amu, if you sleep on your stomach too often, you'll get fat", Miki said nonchalantly. She barely dodged a pillow Amu threw at her.

"Shut up, I can do whatever I want. It's my body." She sat up and reached for her cellphone. **[**_**2 new messages**_**]**, the screen read. Amu unlocked the touchscreen and read the messages, both of which were from Haruhi.

**[FUJIOKA HARUHI 31.3.11_20:45 – Hey, you had me worried when you ran off today]  
>[FUJIOKA HARUHI 31.3.11_20:46 – Can't wait to see you tomorrow! Hope you can come to the host club picnic!]<strong>

Amu typed back: **[Thanks. I'll try to come by tomorrow after school. Can't wait~]** Send. She sighed. She was really happy Haruhi had been so nice to her these past few days. As excited as she was about Ouran, Amu was just as, if not more, scared about transferring to a new school filled with completely different people who lived completely different lifestyles. Her father had been offered a job at a major TV and film productions company in Tokyo and her mother had been promoted to vice-president of _Housewives' Knowledge_ magazine. The Hinamori family was living much more comfortably than they had already been living. Amu's mother and father thought about enrolling Amu into Ouran when Midori heard about it from Lulu's parents. However, even with their major increase in salary, they were still not able to afford the tuition at full price. Amu worked hard throughout middle school and studied diligently for her entrance exams and won scholarships that would pay for Amu to attend the school for two years so long as she kept an above-90 average. She was excited about studying at one of the most exclusive schools in Japan and she was anxious to meet new people and make new friends, but these kids were sons and daughters of major business tycoons, CEOs, and captains of industry. There was no way Amu could fit in at Ouran.

She buried her face into her pillow. Her phone buzzed. **[**_**1 new messages **_**]**

**[JOUNOUCHI RIN 31.3.11_21:14 – Are you going to the host club picnic tomorrow? My sister would like it if you joined us!] **Amu's eyes brightened and she smiled at the screen.

**[Yes, I'm going. I would love to join you!] **Send.

Amu was happy she had Rin. She was happy she had Haruhi. She was extremely happy she had her shugo chara. She looked over at her four best friends who were participating in a game of tag around her coffee table. Suu had just tagged Dia and now the other three were flying away from her, laughing. Amu's phone buzzed once more.

**[JOUNOUCHI RIN 31.3.11_21:16 – Great! Can't wait to see you] **Amu set her phone down by her nightstand and turned over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

She had a good feeling about tomorrow. She wasn't so scared anymore.

**(A/N: WOW OKAY SO I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN LIKE A YEAR OR SOMETHING I AM SO SORRY. I've been busy with school, college apps, extracurriculars, you know. Just kidding, I have a tumblr, I never get anything done anymore. But really though, I've just been super busy with life but I've finally had some down-time (and inspiration/motivation) to continue writing. I really hope you enjoy this chapter and again, I'm extremely sorry I haven't updated in forever)**


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